Out There by Kate Folk

4/5 stars

What's it about? Kate Folk’s debut story collection wanders the weird, the creepy, and the obsessive. Populated by characters who throw up their hands and give in, Out There holds a mirror up to the inanity of the 21st century.

How’d I find it? This Electric Lit article. “Dark playfulness:” book-buying catnip?

Who will enjoy this book? Those who loved Karen Russell’s Orange World and Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties will want to pick up Out There.

What stood out? The creativity in these stories makes for a dynamic read. There’s a house that “needs moisture.” A violent Thanksgiving tradition. A clinic for people with Total Nocturnal Bone Loss. Folk writes them all with humor and a touch of Cronenberg grossness. The first and last stories (“Out There” and “Big Sur”), about handsome AI that seduce women in order to steal their identities, are the book’s finest achievements.

Which line made me feel something? This description of dating at 30 really hit home: “Sam slept in a sleeping bag wadded at the center of a king-sized bed. There was a closet in the hallway where he kept his camping gear, and from which he retrieved a spare pillow for me to sleep on, still in its wrapping, as if he’d bought it for this purpose. At the foot of the bed was a Rubbermaid container full of folded T-shirts and socks. On its lid sat an electric kettle he used to boil water for coffee, so he wouldn’t have to go upstairs.” Oh, I have met Sam.

Wonderlands: Essays on the Life of Literature by Charles Baxter

2/5 stars

How’d I find it? I recently read The Feast of Love and Gryphon and was excited to explore more of Baxter’s work when I found this at Politics & Prose.

Why not 3 or more stars? Writing about writing is one of my favorite genres, as it offers insight into the author’s approach to craft and, often, their own reading taste. I love coming away with a list of new things to read or the urge to revisit a short story with a different perspective. Wonderlands felt entry-level, its arguments too obvious to be robust. Like reality in the dream worlds Baxter describes, my mind tended to drift with every page.

The Material by Camille Bordas

3/5 stars

What's it about? The Material follows an MFA stand-up program in Chicago as the students and faculty prepare for a set competing against Second City. A novel of rich inner monologues, the competitive nature of fame, and even a school shooter.

How’d I find it? An excerpt of this book in Harper’s assured me that I needed to read the whole darn thing.

Who will enjoy this book? A readalike if you appreciate an ensemble of characters and time in their psyches? The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty.

What stood out? I can’t help but applaud this novel’s ambition. Writing about the art of stand-up comedy requires crafting performances for the page, and Bordas does just this, delivering not only the sets of her famous and would-be comics, but also their riffing creative minds, the forge where jokes are made. She writes bits that work and others that flop, lending authenticity to the story. It seems Bordas composed her first novels in French, and if English is not her first language, I’m all the more impressed by her comedic ear. Dorothy, the professor who has a new special coming out, enticed me the most; her thoughts on aging as a single woman were memorable and well-written.

Which line made me feel something? As Olivia, one of our aspiring comics, approaches the microphone: “It was almost a game at this point, testing how many unrelated-to-comedy thoughts she could hold in her head up to the last second—the more there were, the greater the relief would be at seeing them fly away with her first line, like a flock of scared-off birds after a gunshot.”

The Complete Stories of Truman Capote

4/5 stars

What's it about? Capote dazzles and delights in his short fiction, ordered here chronologically, that captures the angst of youth in the rural South, the loneliness of mid-century American cities, and the intricacies of nuanced sexuality.

How’d I find it? A dear friend of mine knew Truman Capote and dismissed him as a “fascinating drunk.” The comment inspired me to read him all the more, having adored In Cold Blood.

Who will enjoy this book? If you appreciate F. Scott Fitzgerald, you’ll love these smart tales. Let’s be real: this book appeals to all short story aficionados.

What stood out? I started reading this book at the end of a New York trip, and it suited the occasion perfectly. Take this collection with you in the bustle of a city. Read it in a crowded bar. These stories of daily failure, from a Haitian prostitute settling down, to a child examining his unusual relationship with an adult cousin, prove Capote’s gift in crafting vivid worlds. “Jug of Silver” and “The Headless Hawk” were standouts.

Which line made me feel something? This horrific little detail from “The Headless Hawk:” “Dusk, and nightfall, and the fibers of sounds called silence wove a shiny blue mask. Waking, he peered through eyeslits, heard the frenzied pulsebeat of his watch, the scratch of a key in a lock. Somewhere in this hour of dusk a murderer separates himself from shadow and with a rope follows the flash of silk legs up doomed stairs.“

Old New York by Edith Wharton

5/5 stars

What's it about? In these four outstanding novellas, Edith Wharton hones in on the constraints of class within New York society of the mid-1800s.

How’d I find it? It’s no secret that I love a pocket edition. I was browsing a neighborhood library book sale in Washington, DC, and this tiny Wharton collection in mint condition (no longer) had to come home with me.

Who will enjoy this book? This is Literature with a capital L. If you like the big names in short fiction, these novellas will charm you. This is also a great book for fellow Austenites looking for a cunning period read. Wharton delivers.

What stood out? I may not have enjoyed Ethan Frome, but this book is a real winner. Each story is unique — a young man is entrusted with his family’s legacy in “False Dawn,” while “New Year’s Day” plays with the trope of a woman scorned — which makes the collection extra engrossing. The ending of “Old Maid” came out of nowhere and instantly put me in tears.

Which line made me feel something? From “The Spark,” in which a certain Civil War poet makes an appearance: “Those four years had apparently filled to the brim every crevice of his being. For I could not hold that he had gone through them unawares, as some famous figures, puppets of fate, have been tossed from heights to depths of human experience without once knowing what was happening to them—forfeiting a crown by the insistence on some prescribed ceremonial, or by carrying on their flight a certain monumental dressing-case.”

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

4/5 stars

What's it about? Set in 1962, this sweet book follows a day in the life of George, a British expat and professor living in California. George mourns the recent loss of his partner Jim and grapples with the realities of aging.

How’d I find it? I’ve known about this book for many years, but finally picked up a copy when I saw this stunning pocket edition at Powell’s.

Who will enjoy this book? A Single Man recalls the Joycean minutiae of Ulysses and the themes about life found in Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, one of the greatest character studies I’ve ever read. For those who crave West Coast fiction, this is very much a California book.

What stood out? As we follow George to work, the hospital, the gym, and a night of boozing and flirtation, Isherwood slides along the spectrum of existence, from the intimacy of George’s thoughts to the corporeality of the body to the movements of the soul. The result is a powerful statement on the fragility of life and its miracle, a marvel on a small scale. George can be nasty and prone to rants that are infamous among his friends, but he’s a fascinating mind to inhabit for a short while. Look out for some devastating writing about love in these pages.

Which line made me feel something? George drinks in the reflection of his naked body: “The neck is loose and scraggy under all circumstances, in all lights, and would look gruesome even if he were half-blind. He has abandoned the neck altogether, like an untenable military position.”

I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by Emily Nussbaum

4/5 stars

What's it about? Emily Nussbaum sets out her thesis about the unique importance of television via essays on The Leftovers, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Lost, and a myriad of other shows. A page-turning contemplation on television as art and how it converses with and represents culture.

How’d I find it? As a bookseller, I combed through every section to better know our stock, and you can bet Solid State Books has a solidly curated film and television section. I Like to Watch is a book I’ve eyed for years before finally tucking in.

Who will enjoy this book? TV watchers, this book is for you. You’ll be inspired to watch shows you’ve overlooked (Ryan Murphy’s œuvre) and second guess those you love (True Detective has “so much gravitas it could run for president”).

What stood out? Nussbaum folds in such a variety of perspectives on so many TV shows that there’s truly something for everybody. I respect how seriously she takes her chosen subject. Despite the richness of ideas, the essays flow together as if they were written for this book, a testament to their editing and arranging. While published in 2019, some aspects of I Like to Watch already feel dated for a reader in 2024. The mood around the 2016 elections, the overall ickiness of #MeToo revelations—dead horses that have been beat plenty.

Which line made me feel something? From a fabulous essay on Jane the Virgin: “…the soap, the rom-com, the romance novel, and, more recently, reality television. These are the genres that get dismissed as fluff, which is how our culture regards art that makes women’s lives look like fun.”

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

3/5 stars

What's it about? Kaling's second collection of essays muses on fame, work, and love. A light-hearted, delightful read.

How’d I find it? I’m a millennial who has seen every episode of The Office more times than she can count.

Who will enjoy this book? The bottom line: if you like Mindy and celebrity memoirs, you'll enjoy this book. Looking for a read-alike? Try You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson.

What stood out? Kaling's essay on weddings (and why being a bridesmaid stinks) is a hilarious and touching reflection on female friendship. "A Perfect Courtship in My Alternate Life" imagines Kaling's life if she'd ended up as a Latin teacher at a Manhattan private school, told via email exchanges.

Which line made me feel something? A loud cackle escaped from me at the following description of a certain sorority: "Their finely toned arms replace a finely honed sense of irony."

The Singularity by Dino Buzzati

4/5 stars

What's it about? In this slim tale of horror, Ermanno Ismani accepts a government appointment to a top-secret research facility, so secret that no one seems to know where it is and what the scientists actually do there. When Ermanno and his wife Elisa arrive and realize the truth, it may be too late to save themselves.

How’d I find it? After seeing this incredible cover (drawn by the author himself), I signed up for the NYRB Classics Book Club. Hurray for book mail!

Who will enjoy this book? If you agreed with my review of The Invention of Morel or loved that “Be Right Back” episode of Black Mirror, you’ll enjoy The Singularity.

What stood out? This great little story feels modern, speaking to the uncertainties around artificial intelligence with which we’re currently grappling. The reveal of the research project delivers a shock, and Buzzati mounts the horror and tragedy with each page. I found that the narrative style lacked cohesion, but the plotting of this tale means I won’t forget it soon.

Which line made me feel something? From a long monologue by the mad, sad Endriade, lead scientist of military zone 36: “No spending limit, understand? Billions, tossed there in front of me like pebbles, as much as I liked. The old dream. But now…Now I was completely uninterested. That’s how we men are, wretched flesh.”

P. S. My curating skills must be improving, because I’m finding so many 4-star books this summer.

Long Island by Colm Tóibín

4/5 stars

What's it about? In the unexpected sequel to Brooklyn, we find Eilis Lacey twenty years later, living on Long Island with Tony and their two children, surrounded by the Fiorello family as neighbors. Tony has an affair with a married woman that results in a pregnancy, and when Eilis realizes she may be expected to accept this new child, she returns to Ireland for her mother’s 80th birthday and to decide her future.

How’d I find it? I recently listened to an interview with Colm Tóibín about the release of Long Island on The New York Times Book Review podcast and was sold, as I adored both the film adaptation of Brooklyn, with Saoirse Ronan’s outstanding performance as Eilis, and the original novel.

Who will enjoy this book? Readers of Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchett will like Long Island. You don’t have to read Brooklyn first, but you really should.

What stood out? Colm Tóibín writes Eilis beautifully, this character who others find inscrutable but whose mind we get to pick through over the course of 300 pages. The complex interiority of her character is the novel’s best feature, as we don’t get far into the actual events of the story. Without spoiling too much, Tóibín leaves the reader wanting, and the place in the action where he chooses to end the book is abrupt and unsatisfying, almost as if he’d written the other half but wants to string this out into a trilogy. Either way, the writing is sharp, and I would revel in another installment.

Which line made me feel something? “Tonight would be the first time she would ever sleep in a house alone, when there would be no one in the bed with her or in the next room. In all her years with Tony, it was something she had often dreamed about, especially at the beginning of their marriage—slipping away, getting a train or even driving to some town and finding an anonymous hotel to spend two nights away from everyone.”